West is pleased to announce that we now offer a ready-to-use, steam-sterilized solution for prefillable glass syringes. Westar® Ready-to-Use (RU) steam-sterilized plungers can mitigate risk for chemical and physical deterioration of plungers through an optimized steam sterilization cycle that, when compared to high-dose gamma irradiation, may:

Minimize impact on elastomers’ physical characteristics and on chemical oxidation and degradation during the plungers’ shelf-life

Improve prefilled syringe functionality due to lower and more consistent break loose forces

“Choosing Westar RU steam plungers can streamline the manufacturing process by moving many of the processes related to closure preparation, including sterilization and washing, from the drug manufacturer to West,” said Tibor Hlobik, Associate Director, Marketing, PFS Technologies. “This can help manufacturers move their product to market faster in a high-quality system that helps mitigate risk.”

The Westar RU steam sterilization process is fully validated and backed by West’s technical and regulatory expertise. Plungers are available for rapid order fulfillment in market-proven formulations from West and its long-time partner, Daikyo Seiko, Ltd. The plungers fit standard prefillable syringes and comply with United States, European and Japanese pharmacopeias.